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Some folks would have you think that to believe in Santa Claus is counter to the true meaning of Christmas. But what is the true meaning of Christmas?
In Rome, Saturnalia, the holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture was celebrated during the winter solstice, occuring around December 21. It is the time when the sun after having been at the lowest point in the heavens, begins to rise over the world with renewed vigor and power. During Saturnalia food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, slaves would become masters. Peasants were in command of the city. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun. The Romans ate big dinners, visited their friends, and the halls of the Romans were decked with boughs of laurel and of green trees, with lighted candles and with lamps. Candles and green wreaths were given as presents, the streets were crowded with noisy processions of men and women carrying lighted tapers, and public places were decked with flowers and shrubs. Sounds an awful lot like our modern day concept of Christmas, doesn't it?
Although some evidence suggests that his Jesus birth may have occurred in the spring Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.
Burning a Yule log was a celebration of the winter solstice. This was the darkest time of year, and the people celebrated because days would start getting longer after the solstice. There was quite a bit of ritual and ceremony tied to the Yule log, for it marked the sun's rebirth from its southern reaches. The Yule log gets its name from the Scandinavian tradition, but the ritual burning of a special log during winter solstice took place as far west as Ireland, as far south as Greece, and as far north as Siberia. In the fourth century AD When Pope Julius I decided to celebrate Christmas around the Winter Solstice, the Yule log tradition continued, but the fire came to represent the light of the Savior instead of the light of the Sun
It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas, to reinvent Christmas, and change it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. Many works such as A Christmas Carol by English author Charles Dickens written 1843, depicting Christmas as a one-day family event held in the home, Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" beleived to be written in December 1822, about the plump bearded man, and Thomas Nast's published works of Santa Claus and Christmas Traditions appearing in Harper's Weekly newspapers in the 1860's contributed to American ideas of Christmas and Santa Claus. Alabama has the distinction of being the first state to declare Christmas as a legal holiday, doing so in 1836. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
I am at peace with
how I feel, and believe in the true spirit of St. Nicholas. Whether you choose
to make Christmas a celebration of the birth of Jesus, to believe in
the true spirit of St. Nicholas, or simply to celebrate and reflect
upon another year, it can best be summed up by this quote from President
Calvin Coolidge: "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state
of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is
to have the real spirit of Christmas."
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